Automatic spring-beard-needle-making machine.



W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATlON FILED DEC-27, l90 9.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEII- 27. I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z! Mme 1443M of 7,1, W3C,

W. H. DAYTON. AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27, I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

, W; H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 27, I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915..

17 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC-27,1909.

1,136,778. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

a wumdoz W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27, I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETISSHEET e.

W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27. 1909.

1 hwwtoz F I l I I IL 17 SHEETSSHEET 7.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

q/viiM-eooeo W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 05027,1909.

1,136,778. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

i i W W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27. 1909.

1,136,778. I Pa en ed Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SKEETSSHEET 9.

awuz-m coz W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.21, 1909. I

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

attomm j APPLICATION FILED DEC-21, I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 11- W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.21. 1909.

1,136,778. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 12.

W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27, 1909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETSSHBET 13.

m ce o attomww Patent'd Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 14.

1 AL J W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2?, 1909.

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W. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 27' I909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 15 km wkN alto 1mm;

W. H. DAYTON. AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 16.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 27. 1909.

136 o I Z35 i gwvw coz w. H. DAYTON.

AUTOMATIC SPRING BEARD NEEDLE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-27, 1909. I I v V Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

17 8HEETS-SHEET l7.

WILLIAM H. DAYTON, NEEDLE COMPANY, NECTICU'I.

OF TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO EXCELSIOR OF TORRINGTON,CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- AUTOMATIC SPRIN G-BEARD-N EEDLE-MAKING IllllIACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DAYTON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Torrington, in the county ofLitchfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automatic Spring-Beard-Needle-Making Machines, of whichthe following is a description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

The present invention relates to machines for making spring beardneedles for knitting machines. a

The object is to provide an automatic machine into which the wire ofwhich the needle is to be made is fed, said wire being cut off to theproper length, and being sub-,

jected automatically to successive operating tools, and finallydischarged from the machine as a finished product, ready for the finalstep of hardening.

Broadly, the invention comprises an automatic machine for making needlesof this character, in which there is combined a rotating'turret havingholding jaws for the blanks which have been severed from the wire, witha series of tools for performing all the reducing operations on theblank by compression, as distinguished from milling or cutting, andhaving also bending tools for forming the needle beard, all of saidtools being movable to and from the turret or carrier.

It also comprises an automatic machine for making spring beard needles,in which machine a single turret is used for holding the blanks, thisturret being rotated with a step by step movement in order to submit.

the blanks to the various operations which are performed upon them, jawsof the turret itself and the various tools or appliances around or inoperative relation to the turret serve to form the blanks into thefinished spring beard needles, while the said blanks are held in andcarried around by the single turret.

It also consists in an automatic machine for making spring beardneedles, in which the holding jaws of the turret itself in conjunctionwith means for compressing such jaws, act as the tools for forming thenotches or flats on the heads of the blanks.

Finally, the invention consists in the mat- Speeification of LettersPatent.

while the holding Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Application filed December 27. 1909. Serial No. 535,128.

aws to close; Fig.- 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.; Fig. 6 is asection through the wire cutter on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is asectional view of the swager, which reduces the blank down to make theart which afterward forms the beard portion; Fig. 8 is a face view ofsame, and it will be understood that the second swaging tool which makesthe short pointed end on the blank is of practically the sameconstruction, so far as essential elements are concerned; Fig. 9 is aplan view of the clipping mechanism which clips off the surplus end ofthe blank, between the two swaging operations; Fig. 10is a side view ofthe same; Fig. 11 is a front view knives; Fig. 12 is a side view of thecam for swaging tool is mounted; Fig. 13 is an edge viewof the same;Fig. 14. is a top plan view of the eye-cutting and'flattening mechanism;Fig. 15 is a side view of the same; Fig. 16 is an end view of Fig. 14;Fig. 17 is is a detail view in two positions of the die for cutting orpressing the eye; Fig. 18 is a detail view in two positions, of the diefor flattening; Fig. 19 is a detail'view in two positions of thestationary die cotiperating with the die shown in Figs. 17 and 18; Fig.20 is a plan view of the cam disk for operating the eye-cutting andflattening mechanism, the blocks shown in full lines forming the camgroove for the roller operating the cutting and flattening mechanismitself, and the bottom blocks shown in dotted lines of the clippingforming the cam groove for the roller, operview of Fig. 20; Fig. 22 is aplan view of the mechanism for moving the beard-bending tools back andforth, and for operating the tools themselves to do the bending; Fig. 23is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 24 is a horizontal detail, partlyin section, on line 242-l of Fig. 23; Fig. 25 is a detail elevation ofFig. 24; Fig. 26 is an elevation of the rod carrying the anvil orformer, around which the material is bent to form the beard; Fig. 27 isa sectional view of the machine, taken substantially on line 27-27 ofFig. 1, parts being broken away; Fig. 28 is a side elevation of the camand the lever which operates the swinging arm or frame on top of themachine, which arm or frame carries the pins or projections foroperating the cutter to sever the blank from the wire roll; to compressthe holding jaws around the blank; to flatten and notch the head; toopen the holding jaws; and to tr1p the catch which holds them open, andallow them to close again; Fig. 29 is a plan view of a portion of theturret 'or carrier and one of the holding jaws; Fig. 30 is a sideelevation of the same; Fig. 31 is an end view; Fig. 32 is a detail planview, showing an additional mechanism which may be added to the machine,for bending and clipping off the needle beyond the bend, which needle isof a different type, so far as holding it in the knitting machine isconcerned; Figs. 33 and 34 are detail views of this type of needlebefore and after bending; Fig. 35 is a side elevation of this bendingmechanism; Figs. 36, 37 and 38 are different detailed plans of parts ofthe bending mechanism; Fig. 39 is a side view of the cutter, and Figs.40 and 41 front and rear views thereof, respectively; Figs. 42 and 43are detail views of the needle before and after the cutting; Figs. 44 to50, inclusive, represent the needle itself in its various stages ofcompletion, after having been acted on by the respective tools.

' Referring now to the drawings, the framework of the machine,standards, base plate, etc., may be of any desirable construction, but,as herein shown, Arepresents the base or main supporting plate, upon theupper face of which are secured the various blocks having guiding waysfor the diflerent reciprocating tool slides. This base plate is firmlyattached by means of angle brackets B, to the legs or standards C.

D represents the main driving .shaft, suitably journaled in bearingsbeneath the base plate, and having the usual shifting lever a, andclutch connection 6, with belt pulley c. The main shaft D carries a wormgear (Z, which meshes with a large worm wheel E, on the vertical shaftF, projecting up through the base plate of the machine, and carrying inits upper end a horizontal bevel gear 6, meshing with the vertical bevelgear f on the horizontal shaft G, journaled in bearings g, g, on thebase plate, and having and the cutting of it to proper length.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, the wire is supplied from the usual reel,and passes through a well known wire-straightening mechanism J, a beltpassing from the belt pulley l of the wire straightener to the belt m onthe driving shaft. It passes between the gripping a'ws 11., through theregistering opening 0, o, in the stationary and movable parts of thecutting block, and into the holding jaw K. Movement is imparted to theslide L on which the gripping jaws are supported, in the followingmanner -The shaft I has on its outer end a disk ;0 carrying a crank pin9, which engages a slot 1' in a lever M pivoted to the bed plate of themachine; this has a link connection N with the lever O pivoted at itslower end to the block P on slide L, and carrying the gripping jaws. Theslide L, as shownin Fig. 5, dovetails on to a guide rail .or bar M,forming a way on which the slide L reciprocates. This lever O has a camprojection s on its lower end, bearing on the upper grip ping jaw. Theslot 1' .in the lever M is slightly inclined, and in the rotation of thecrank pin, the lever M is first swung toward an upright position, whichcauses the projection s to bind on the upper gripping jaw,

and force the jaws together to grip the wire; the further movement ofthe crank pm feeds the entire slide forward,-carrying with 1t the wire.On the slide L is arranged the stationary and movable parts 6, u, of thethe operating lever R, hereinafter referredto, and in the downwardmovement of that lever the movable cutter is forced down and cooperateswith the stationary cutter to shear ofl the wire.

At the time the wire is cut, the forward end of the blank portion isheld in one of the jaws K, carried on the turret or carrier T. Theholding jaw K is shown in detail in Figs. 29, 30 and 31. S represerts anarm securedby the screw 3 in a socket in the turret. It has secured toit near its. outer end a bracket 2, upon which is pivoted the movablemember U of the holding jaw, normally held closed by the spring V, butwhich may be held in open position by the pivoted catch W. The outer endof the bar S which forms the stationary member of the holding jaw, andthe corresponding lower face of the pivoted jaw, have correspondinggrooves or notches X, formed in them, and when the pin Y, on the leverB, strikes the upper jaw, it compresses the wire blank, and flattens andforms the notches in the head of the needle, as shown in Fig. 44:. Y isan adjustable backing bolt in opposition to the pin Y. Thus the holdingjaws K, in addition to the function of holding the blank, for all thesuccessive operations, also act as dies'for performing the firstreducing operation. When the holding jaw is presented for the entranceof'the wire, it has already been opened by the pin Z on the arm R,movable with the lever B, and the catch V has swung to normal positionto hold the jaws open. When the blank has been inserted, the projectionQ also carried by lever R, bears against the beveled face of the catchW, and trips it, to allow the jaws to close. The catch 1V is controlledby the spring W. At the first station, therefore, it will be seen thatthe wire is fed into the holding jaws, the catch 1V is tripped byprojection Q, to cause the jaws to clamp the material, the projection orpin Y forces the jaws .together to form the head on the needle, and thepin or projection Q, operates the movable cutter to sever the blank fromthe wire strip.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 3, 27, 29 and 30,

the turret or carrier T comprises a headmounted above the base plate, ona vertical shaft 1, projecting therethrough, and has a plurality ofradial sockets to receive the arms S, and thus a plurality of radiallyextending holding greater in number than the number of operations to beperformed. on a blank. The shaft 1 beneath the bed plate is providedwith a ratchet 'wheel 2, and .the turret is intermittently rotated to'present the holding jaws successively to the different tools. Thisintermittent movement is imparted through the bar 3, guided in ways inbrackets 4:, attached to the under side of the bed plate. A pin 5 on theend of the bar, engages the teeth in the ratchet wheel 2, and turns thesame step by'step. The bar 3 at its opposite end is pivoted to ahorizontal lever 6, pivoted at 7 to the machine frame, and this bar 6carries a roller 8, which runs in a cam groove 9 formed in the upperface of the worm wheel E, on the vertical shaft F. As this shaftrotates, therefore, the lever 6 is need not be mentioned here; it is,

shown in the plan view,

jaws are provided, usually swung on its pivot 7, and lever 3 advancedand retracted to rotate the turret. After the blank has been cut fromthe wire, and the head flattened to give the blank the form shown inFig. 44, the next step is to swage down the end to the form shown inFig. 45. The turretis, therefore, rotated to present the blank to theswaging tool shown as a whole at 10 in Fig.1, and in detail in Figs. 7and 8. The swaging tool itself is of a well known construction, and itsdetails however, operated by independent belt connection from the beltpulley 11 to the power shaft.

Itis not deemed necessary to specifically describe the swaging toolsherein shown, inasmuch as they are like the tools shown in thewell-known Dayton swaging machine patents.

To provide for the bodily movement of the swaging tool toward and fromthe blank carried by the turret, means are provided as Fig. 1. Theswaging tool as a whole is guided in ways 12, secured to the base plate,and the reciprocating movement is imparted to the tool slide from theshaft I. On this shaft I is a barrel .13,'having a V-shaped cam groove,in which fits a .roller 14, in the end of one arm of a bell crank lever15, pivoted to the base plate A. The other arm 16 of the bell cranklever is forked to embrace a pin on the swaging machine tool slide, andin the rotation of the shaft I, the bell crank lever is oscillated, andthe slide moved alternately up to and away from the work held in theturret.

The next step in the operation is to clip off the surplus length of theblank due to the swaging, and this is accomplished by the mechanismshown in plan view, Fig. 1, and in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the blank afterthis operation presenting the appearance shownin Fig. 46. Attached tothe base plate A is a block and longitudinally adjustable on this blockby the adjusting screw 18, is a head 19 having an which is adjustablysecured by slot and screw, the plate 21, formed with an upper beveledknife portion 22. Thehead of a screw 23 on the slide 19, may be adjustedto bear against the under side of the plate 21,

upright portion 20, to the face of and hold it rigidly against downwarddisplacement during the clipping action. The horizontal knife platewhich carries knife 24, is secured by slot and screw to the pivotedsupporting bar 25, as at 26, to the head 19. The knife plate isadjustable horizontally by the screws 27 An' arm28 extends

